Kealoha Pisciotta is a Native Hawaiian Traditional Knowledge Keeper. She is the President of Mauna Kea Anaina Hou and the founder of Kai Palaoa, a marine protection organization that is working to protect marine mammals and all ocean life, and to restore the abundance of the sea. Her talk is presented in conjunction with the EHCC's "Current Events" gallery exhibit on ocean debris from Kamilo Beach.

 

Video presentation premiering on our YouTube channel on Friday, October 29th.

 

Biography: Kealoha Pisciotta is a Indigenous Hawaiian Traditional Knowledge Keeper and Cultural Practitioner. She has been a key front line activist on issues ranging from Mauna Kea to the ocean realms. She oversees two advocacy organizations, Mauna Kea Anaina Hou and Kai Palaoa. She has participated in state, federal, and international consultations regarding human rights, environmental protections, and Native Hawaiian burials and cultural customs. She has submitted interventions before United Nations Councils and Commissions on behalf of Native Hawaiian civil and human rights, including Hawaiian rights to self-determination. She also presented to the UN Human Rights Commission and participated in the drafting of international legal standards for the UN’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

She has been featured in several award-winning documentary films, the most notable being the PBS documentary Mauna Kea - Temple Under Siege. She has also been interviewed for newspaper and broadcast reporting in more than 500 featured stories, including by The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, NBC, PBS and other major news outlets.